Filling feeler for looms



Oct. 24, 1933. E. w. BARRETT 1,932,129

FILLING FEELER FOR LOOMS Filed Aug. 15, 1932 WITNESS INVENTOR. N-WEJ R\0GHAM Eowmw BARRETT A TTORNE Y.

Patented Oct. 24, 1933 warren STATES PATENT OFFIE FILLING FEELER FOR LOOMS ration of Maine Application August 15, 1932. Serial No. 628,854

11 Claims.

The present invention relates to filling feelers for looms.

The usual types of filling feelers, now in use, consist of a feeler stand or housing mounted on the loom independent of the shuttle and carrying a filling contacting member that feels into the shuttle each detecting pick to determine the condition of the filling supply therein, there being also provided some means for indicating substantial exiaustion of the fillingsupply and thereupon effecting a predetermined change in the operation of the loom, such as stoppage of the same or automatic replenishment of the filling supply. The filling contacting member may accomplish the detection of the condition of the filling supply in various ways, i. e. it may be of the side-slipping type which slides axially of the shuttle upon a substantially bare bobbin, or it may be of the measuring type wherein contact with the filling supply results in the member being moved a greater or less distance according to the diameter of the wound filling mass, etc.

In all such feelers, of which I am aware, the detecting action of the filling contacting member is dependent upon its being struck and moved by the filling mass as the lay beats up, or as the shuttle boxes shift, according to the type of loom. Such movement is, of necessity, quite rapid, and the resultant blows, repeated several hundreds or i. even thousands of times, frequently cut or bruise the filling, thus causing loss of production, and poor quality of cloth.

It has heretofore been proposed to render the feeler intermittent in action, thus reducing the number of blows on the filling. However, such arrangements do not reduce the force of the blows that are still imparted, and still result in bruised or out filling. It has also been proposed to make the filling contacting member as light as possibleand to cushion it with springs or the like. This latter proposal has met with considerable commercial success, being, prior to my invention, the most practical solution of the problems involved.

However, even the cushioning of the filling contacting member and the lessening of the inertia of the moving parts constitute but a lessening of the evil, and I propose to eliminate it entirely.

To this end, my invention contemplates the provision of a filling feeler having a filling contacting member which is not reciprocated by the filling mass, but merely creeps toward the same as it becomes more and more depleted, this desirable result being accomplished by the provision of means for preventing the filling contacting memher from moving from the position to which it would, otherwise, be reciprocated by the filling mass, the means operating to release the member at each instant the detecting action is to take place.

Referring to the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a side slipping feeler embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the feeler of Fig. l, a shuttle appearing in section in this view;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of a measuring feeler, adapted for electrical indication, also embodying my invention;

. Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the feeler of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a view in cross-section, taken approximately on line 55 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 6 is a view in cross-section, taken approximately on line 6'-6 of Fig. 3, Figs. 5 and 6 being to a larger scale than Figs. 3 and 4. I

The twofeelers herein disclosed as illustrative of the various means by which my invention may 5 be carried into effect are'of quite different construction. Nevertheless, the predominant fea tures of these feelers that constitute the essence of my invention are common to both of them. Accordingly, I shall proceed to describe eachfeeler separately, and then point out, in the claims, wherein my invention lies."

The feeler illustrated in Figs. 1 and. 2 is, as above intimated, of the side-slipping type. The entire feeler mechanism is carried by a feeler stand 1 adapted to be secured by screws-2 to a suitable part of the loom. The exact manner of mounting the feeler will, of course, vary according to the type of loom involved. In the present instance, I have shown the feeler as mounted horizontally on the breast beam 3 in the front of the loom, and pointing rearwardly, so that it may feel into the shuttle 4 as the lay (not shown) beats up with the shuttle boxed on the feeler side of the loom.

The filling contacting member of this feeler is in the form of a bell-crank lever 5 pivoted upon a pin 6 carried by. a movable carrier 7. The carrier '7 is slidably mounted in the stand 1 for rectilinear movements forwardly and rearwardly of the loom, i. e. toward and away from the shuttle. Thus, the filling contacting member 5 is likewise mounted for movement bodily toward and from the shuttle.

The tip of member 5 may be constituted by a separate piece 5' of fiber, metal or other suitable material, bolted to the main body of the member 5 by means of an ordinary stove bolt 8. The tip 5- may have teeth out in its face as at 9, for procuring a better grip on the filling. A

stop lug 10 formed on the upper surface of arm 11 of member coo erates with a stop pin 12 in pin 6 to limit movement of member 5 about the pin 6 in one direction.

5 A spring 13 has one'end secured to an upturned fiange 14 on the rearward end of arm 15, which may be formed as part of feeler stand 1. The other end of the spring is secured, as at 16, to a depending lug on the extreme forward end of the arm 11 of the filling contacting member.

Since this spring is under tension at all times and acts along a line that does not pass through pin 6 it serves to normally maintain the member 5 in the position shown in Fig. 1, with the 15 stops 10, 12 in contact. In this position, the tip 5 enters the shuttle 4 through a slot 17 in the wall thereof, each time the shuttle is presented to the feeler.

The spring 13, in addition to holding the filling contacting member erect in proper position to enter the shuttle, also serves to urge the carrier 7 and member 5 rearwardly toward the shuttle, the limit of rearward movement under influence of the spring being determined by stop 18 constituted by an upturned flange on the forward end of the carrier.

The mechanism as thus far described is not per se, new. Without more, it would operate in the same way as any ordinary side slip feeler, i. e., as the lay beat up on each detecting pick the filling mass in the shuttle would strike tip 5' and move member 5 and carrier 7 forwardly in the stand 1 against the action of spring 13. Finally, when the filling supply became substantially exhausted, the tip 5 would slide axially of the bare bobbin 19 and, instead of being moved forwardly, member 5 would be rotated about pin 6. There may be any of the usual means provided for effecting a change in the operation of the loom when member 5 is rotated, such means being not herein shown or described as they are well-known in the art, andform no part of the present invention.

My invention is, rather, concerned with means I for preventing the filling contacting member from being struck and reciprocated by the filling when the lay beats up. To this end I have provided a brake for locking the carrier, and hence the filling contacting member, against movement rearwardly of the position where tip 5 can just contact te filling when the shuttle is closest to the feeler.

The brake is formed by the lateral surface of finger 20 which projects rearwardly from a lever 21, the lever being pivoted at 22 to the feelei stand 1. A compression spring 23 urges the lever 21 rearwardly (clockwise in Fig. l) and'thus nor mally holds the braking surface of finger 20 in ional engagement with the contiguous edge of the carrier '7. The spring 23 is suficiently strong that it will cause the, brake to lock the carrier in any position to which it may be moved, against the action of spring 13.

Lever 21 is provided at its free end with an upstanding arm 24 into the upper end of which is threaded a rod 25. The rod is adjustable in the arm 24; by means of screw-threads 26, and may be locked in adjusted position by a check To nut 2"], The rod should be adjusted so that it will contact the shuttle at the instant the lay is farthest forward, and will be moved by the shuttle just sufficiently to momentarily release most of the pressure exerted by brake finger 20 against carrier '7.

The operation of this form of my invention is as follows:

Assume that, immediately after transfer, the bobbin 19 contains a full supply of filling and the carrier 7 and filling contacting member 5 are in their extreme rearward position. Then, as the lay approaches front center on the beat-up, the filling mass in the shuttle will strike tip 5 and move member 5 and carrier '2 forwardly to a position determined by the diameter of the filling mass. The first portion of this forward movement is made while the brake is applied. However, the brake has not sufficient strength to prevent the carrier from being thus forced forward and the brake is released when the shuttle has been advanced far enough to contact rod 25.

The brake is released but momentarily and is reapplied the instant the shuttle starts to move away from the feeler. Thus, the filling contacting member is locked in the forward position to which it was moved by the filling mass, and is restrained from. following the shuttle as the latter recedes. 'On succeeding detecting picks, should the filling supply immediately adjacent tip 5 not be depleted, the brake will be momentarily released and instantaneously re-applied each time, but member 6 and carrier 7 will remain very nearly stationary. Then, as the filling supply under the tip 5 starts to unwind, the next presentation of the shuttle to the feeler will find the filling contacting member slightly forward of the position where it can touch the filling mass, and when pressure on the brake is relieved spring 13 will cause the member 5 to creep rearwardly into contact with the filling supply.

Of course, by the time the filling supply is substantially exhausted, the member 5 will have moved rearwardly far enough to be struck by, and slide upon, the bare bobbin, thus effecting the desired change in the operation of the loom.

The form of feeler illustrated in Figs. 3-6, inclusive, embodies the same essential features of my invention, but is adapted for giving an electrical indication. It includes a feeler stand 28 adapted to be secured as by a bolt 29 to a bracket 30 fastened, as in the previously described construction, to the breast beam of the loom in such position. that the filling contacting member of thewfeeler may, as hereinafter described, enter the shuttle 31 through the slot 32' in the front wall thereof and contact the filling mass wound on the slotted bobbin 33.

The feeler stand 28 carries, rigidly secured therein, a guide member 34;. Both the guide memher and the stand are formed of fiber or other electrical insulating material. The guide 34 is substantially cylindrical in form except that it may be tapered at its rearward end, and it is provided with. a longitudinal bore 35 for the reception of a metal plunger 36. This plunger is provided at its forward end with an enlarged head 3'? which slides" in a large bore 33 in the forward part of the guide. A knurled cap 39 is threaded onto the forward end of the guide 34. and a compression spring i0 extending between the cap and head 3? on the plunger serves to urge the plunger toward its rearward position where head 37 contacts a member 41 hereinafter more fully described.

A collar 42 is clamped on guide member 3 1 as by means of a bolt 43. An irregularly shaped lever 44 is pivoted on bolt 43 between the ends. of the clamp. A compression spring 45 extend. ingbetween the guide member 34. and the ex- 15G treme forward end of. the lever 44 normally urges the latter in a clockwise direction, Fig. 3, about bolt v4S. An arm 46 of the lever extends laterally into a slot 4? formed in the side of guide 34, and carries at its free end a brake finger 48 which engages the plunger 36 with sumcient force to loci: it against rearward movement under the influence of spring 45. Brake releasing means forfreeing the plunger of. the influence of the brake finger 48 are also provided in this em bodiment. Such means are constituted by an arm 49 which extends outwardly and then upwardly from arm 46 of the lever 44, and a rod 56 adjustably threaded into the free end of arm '49 and extending rearwardlytherefrom. A check nut 51 serves to lock the rod in adjusted position.

As in the. previously described construction, the filling contacting member (plunger 35herein) is normally locked in position where it can just contact the filling supply when the shuttle is farthest forward, the brake being momentarily released each detecting pick, to allow the plunger to creep rearwardly as the filling supply becomes depleted. However, when that portion of the filling supply that is engageable by the plunger becomes substantially exhausted, the freeing of the plunger from the action of t e brake will result in spring 40 forcing the plunger rearwardly into the slot in the bobbin 33, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 4. I utilize this final rearward movement of the plunger to effect the closing of an electric contact to thereby indicate exhaustion of the filling supply.

To this end, an electric conductor 52, in any usual electric knock-off circuit, is connected to a brass plate 53 mounted on the fiber insulating stand 28. This plate, 53, extends through the wall of guide 34 and is electrically connected with spring 40. The spring 40 is, in turn, electrically connected to the metal head 37 on the plunger. The stop'41, previously referred to, is a spring metal piece secured to stand 28'as at 54 and connected to a conductor 55. Thus, when the plunger is urged to its extreme rearward position the head 3'? contacts stop 41 and completes the circuit from conductor 52 to conductor 54. The means by which the completion of this circuit is made to effect the change in the operation of the loom need not be herein illustrated or described, as many such means are now well-known in the art, and they form no part of the present invention.

It is apparent from the foregoing that I have largely eliminated that inherent defect in feeler operation-reciprocation of a feeler member from the filling supplyand that my invention is applicable to widely varying types of feelers. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the disclosure of two embodiments of my invention is for purposes of illustration only, ano not of limitation, the true scope or" the invention being defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a loom, the combination of a shuttle adapted to contain a supply of filling, and a filling feeler mounted independent of the shuttle for detecting and indicating substantial exhaustion of the filling supply, said feeler including a filling engaging member which is urged rearwardly to a position where it contacts the fillin supply each time the shuttle is presented to the feeler, and means for restraining the said memberfrom moving rearwardly of the said position, the said restraining means freeing the said member for further rearward movement each time the shuttle is presented to the'feeler.

2. In a loom, the combination of a shuttle adapted to contain a supply of filling, and a filling feeler mounted independent of the shuttle for detecting and indicating substantial exhaustion of the filling supply, said feeler including a filling engaging member which is urged rearwardly to a position where it contacts the filling supply at each instant when the shuttle is farthest forward on a detecting'pick, and means, operating each time the shuttle is presented to the feeler, for restraining the said member from moving rearwardly of the said position until the next succeeding instant the shuttle is so presented.

3. In a loom, the combination of a shuttle adapted to contain a supply of filling, and a filling feeler comprising a feeler stand carrying means for feeling into the shuttle and detecting the condition of the filling therein, said means including a filling engaging member urged toward the shuttle, means for restraining the said memer against movement from a position where it can just contact the filling supply when the shuttle occupies its position closest to the feeler, and means operable by contact with the shuttle for releasing the said restraining means each time the filling supply in the shuttle is brought within range of the feeler.

4. In a loom, the combination of a shuttle adapted to'contain a supply of filling, and a filling feeler mounted independent of the shuttle for the detecting and indicating substantial exhaustion of the filling supply, said feeler including a filling engaging member which is urged toward the shuttle to a position where it just contacts the filling supply each time the shuttle occupies its extreme forward position and means for restraining the said member from any movement with the shuttle as the latter recedes, the said restraining means being released by the shuttle each time the latter is presented to the feeler.

5. In a loom, the combination of a shuttle adapted to contain a supply of filling, and a filling feeler mounted independent of the shuttle for detecting and indicating substantial exhaustion of the filling supply, said feeler including a non-reciprocating filling engaging member, a spring for urging said member toward the shuttle, a brake operating each time the shuttle recedes, to substantially prevent any movement of said member rearwardly with the shuttle and means operating by contact with the shuttle for releasing the brake each'time the shuttle is presented to the feeler.

6. A filling feeler for looms, comprising a feeler stand adapted to be mounted on a loom independent of the shuttle thereof, a movable filling contacting member carried by the said stand for detecting and indicating the condition of the filling supply in the shuttle, means constantly tending to move the said member rearwardly of the position where it can just contact the filling supply at the instant the shuttle is presented to the feeler, and means operating every pick to restrain the said member from. such movement, the last mentioned means being released each time the shuttle is presented to the feeler.

7. A filling feeler for looms, comprising a feeler stand, a filling contacting member mounted for movement relative to the said stand, spring means for urging the said member rearwardly into contact with the filling supply, and means for holding the said member against movement rearwardly of filling :cont-acting position, said means operating each detecting pick to release the said member for further rearward movement.

8. A filling feeler for looms, comprising a feeler stand, a carrier movably mounted on said stand, a side-slip feeler member supported on said carrier, spring means for urging said carrier and feeler member rearwardly, and a brake operating to normally retain the said carrier forwardly of the rearmost position to which it can be moved by the said spring means, the said brake being momentarily released each detecting pick to permit the said feeler member to creep rearwardly into contact with the filling supply.

9. A filling feeler for looms, comprising a feeler stand, a carrier slidably mounted on said stand, a side-slip feeler member pivoted on said carrier, a spring acting on said member to urge both the member and the said carrier rearwardly, and a brake operating to normally retain the said feeler member forwardly of the rearmost position to which it can be moved by the said means, the said brake being momentarily released each detecting pick to permit the said feeler member to creep rearwardly into contact with the filling supply.

10. In a loom, the combination of a shuttle adapted to contain a supply of filling and a filling feeler comprising a feeler stand, a plunger slidable forwardly and rearwardly on the said stand and operating, by virtue of being in its extreme rearward position, to indicate substantial exhaustion of the filling supply in the shuttle, a spring urging said plunger toward its rearward position, means normally operating to retain the said plunger forwardly of the said rearward position, and means operating to release the said plunger for further rearward movement each time the shuttle is presented to the feeler.

11. In a loom, the combination of a shuttle adapted to contain a supply of filling and a filling feeler comprising a feeler stand, a plunger slidable forwardly and. rearwardly on the said stand and operating, when in its extreme rearward position,,to close an electric contact to thereby indieate substantial exhaustion of the filling supply EDWIN, W. BARRETT. 

